That test matters when evaluating Joseph Smith’s claim to be a prophet of God. This is not about cheap insults or mocking Latter-day Saints. Many LDS people are sincere, moral, family-loving people. The question is not whether individual Mormons can be kind or devout. The question is whether Joseph Smith’s life and prophetic claims bear the same kind of fruit we see in Jesus Christ.
When the comparison is made honestly, the difference is not small.
Jesus Christ stands at the center of the Christian faith as the sinless Son of God. He challenged His enemies openly: “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46). The New Testament repeatedly presents Him as without sin: He “committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22), was “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), and in Him “there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His enemies accused Him falsely, but even Pilate said, “I find no guilt in this man” (Luke 23:4).
Joseph Smith’s record is very different. Even using LDS-friendly sources, his life includes secret plural marriage, sealings to women already married to other men, financial collapse in Kirtland, legal proceedings connected to treasure seeking and banking, growing religious and political power in Nauvoo, and a presidential campaign in 1844. None of that automatically proves every accusation against him. But it does mean his public fruit should be tested carefully.
The contrast begins with moral character.
Jesus had no hidden sexual life. He had no wives, no plural wives, no teenage brides, no secret “sealings,” and no doctrine that required women to enter a private marital system revealed through Him. He welcomed women with dignity, protected the vulnerable, and called His followers to purity of heart (Matthew 5:27–30). He blessed children and warned severely against harming “little ones” (Matthew 18:6; Mark 10:13–16).
Joseph Smith, by contrast, practiced plural marriage secretly. The LDS Gospel Topics Essay acknowledges that Joseph was sealed to multiple women and that some were already married to other living men. It also acknowledges that Helen Mar Kimball was sealed to Joseph several months before her fifteenth birthday, while noting that she later described the relationship as “for eternity alone.” Those qualifications should be stated fairly. But they do not remove the central moral question: why would a prophet of God need secret sealings, including sealings to already-married women?
Scripture gives Christians a clear pattern for marriage. In Genesis 2:24, marriage is one man and one woman becoming one flesh. Jesus reaffirms that creation pattern in Matthew 19:4–6: “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” The apostolic standard for church leadership also points toward monogamous fidelity: an overseer is to be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2), and the same standard is repeated for deacons in 1 Timothy 3:12 and for elders in Titus 1:6.
That creates a serious problem for Joseph Smith’s prophetic authority. A prophet should clarify God’s moral order, not cloud it. He should protect marriage, not redefine it in secret.
The contrast continues with money and power.
Jesus refused to turn His ministry into a money-making enterprise. He told His disciples, “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8). He warned against storing up treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19–24). He drove out those who turned His Father’s house into a marketplace (John 2:13–17). He did not build a financial scheme around His prophetic mission.
Joseph Smith’s financial record is far more complicated. The Kirtland Safety Society was created in 1836 with Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon serving as officers. LDS sources acknowledge that the state did not grant it a banking charter, that the society operated without one, that it struggled for months before ceasing operations in 1837, and that many Saints suffered financial setbacks. The same LDS source also states that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were tried and fined over the society’s decision to circulate banking notes.
Again, fairness matters. The Panic of 1837 hurt many institutions, and LDS sources argue that outside opposition and broader economic conditions contributed to the collapse. But the fruit remains troubling. A claimed prophet’s financial venture left many followers wounded, confused, and disillusioned.
Jesus also refused worldly domination. When Satan offered Him the kingdoms of the world, Jesus rejected the temptation (Matthew 4:8–10). When the crowd wanted to make Him king by force, He withdrew (John 6:15). Before Pilate, He said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
Joseph Smith, however, accumulated religious, civic, military, and political influence in Nauvoo. He became mayor, led the Nauvoo Legion, and eventually declared his candidacy for President of the United States in 1844. LDS sources explain that his campaign was connected to the Saints’ search for protection after persecution, and that context should be acknowledged. Still, the contrast remains: Jesus laid down power; Joseph Smith gathered it.
The issue is not that a religious leader may never participate in politics. The issue is the total pattern: secret marriages, religious authority, civic control, military command, financial controversy, and presidential ambition all centered around one man who claimed direct divine authority.
That is why the biblical test of fruit matters.
Jesus’ fruit is holiness, humility, truth, sacrifice, purity, and obedience to the Father. He did not use religious power to gain wives. He did not seek riches. He did not hide a marital system from public view. He did not leave behind a record of disputed financial schemes and secret rituals. He gave Himself for sinners.
Joseph Smith’s fruit is far harder to defend. His movement produced devotion, community, missionary zeal, and sacrifice among many followers. But his own record also includes secrecy, plural marriage, polyandrous sealings, legal controversy, failed financial leadership, and disputed prophetic claims. Christians are not obligated to ignore those facts in the name of politeness.
Paul warned the Galatians that even if “an angel from heaven” preached another gospel, that message should be rejected (Galatians 1:8–9). John told believers not to believe every spirit, but to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1). Jude spoke of “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). A later prophet with a new gospel, new scripture, new priesthood claims, and a new marital system must be tested against the apostolic faith.
When tested by that standard, Joseph Smith does not look like a restoration of biblical Christianity. He looks like a warning.
The fruits are not the same.
Jesus points to holiness, truth, and self-sacrifice. Joseph Smith’s record reflects controversy, power, secrecy, and moral scandal. Christians should be kind to Latter-day Saints, but we should not pretend the evidence is unclear where it is not. A true prophet does not need secret wives, hidden doctrines, financial confusion, or new revelations that contradict the moral pattern of Christ and the apostles.
As Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits.”
Jesus had no secret wives, no money-making scheme, no political power grab, and no hidden doctrine that redefined marriage.
Joseph Smith’s record is different — and even LDS sources acknowledge the hard parts: plural marriage, sealings to already-married women, the Kirtland Safety Society collapse, treasure-seeking controversy, and his 1844 presidential campaign.
This is not about attacking Latter-day Saints. It is about testing prophetic claims by Scripture.
“You will know them by their fruits.” — Matthew 7:16
The Holy Bible: Matthew 4:8–10; Matthew 5:27–30; Matthew 6:19–24; Matthew 7:15–20; Matthew 10:8; Matthew 18:6; Matthew 19:4–6; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 23:4; John 2:13–17; John 6:15; John 8:46; John 18:36; Galatians 1:8–9; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5; 1 John 4:1; Jude 3.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gospel Topics Essay, “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church History Topics, “Joseph Smith’s 1826 Trial.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church History Topics, “The Kirtland Safety Society.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church History Topics, “Joseph Smith’s 1844 Campaign for United States President.”
Joseph Smith Papers, “Introduction to State of New York v. JS–A, 20 March 1826.”
Joseph Smith Papers, “Nauvoo Legion Officers, 1841–1844.”
Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 10: May–August 1842.
Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith.
Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling.